The man they call Jayne

All Firefly images copyright Fox. Please don't sue me.

Jayne ... the man they call Jayne

• Character: Jayne Cobb
• Actor: Adam Baldwin (born 1962)
• TV Show: Firefly
• Movie based on TV Show: Serenity
• Profession: Thug
• Favorite weapon: gun named Vera
• Hobbies: Working out, being in his bunk
• Pros: Strong, good shot with a gun
• Cons: Not very smart, occasionally prone to treachery
• Best quote: "I'll be in my bunk"

Jayne Cobb is a macho space thug who's in it primarily for himself. Not particularly bright, he gets the stock Joss Whedon role of saying the dumb things for comedic value and occasionally stating the obvious that no one else wants to say out loud. It really is a shame that Firefly was canceled, for among a cast of great characters Jayne was one of the most memorable.

This character is the originator of the phrase "I'll be in my bunk." For those of you unfamiliar with the geek parlance, this is a euphemism for going off to masturbate after being turned on. In Jayne's case, it was seeing the shipboard courtesan entertaining another woman that triggered the comment.

Jayne probably sent more than a few to their bunks with his ripped physique and unshaved chest.

How Jayne became a member of Serenity

The Jayne-centric episode "Hero of Canton" has a group of sad proles mistakenly worshipping him as a Robin Hood style hero. They erected a statue in his honor and wrote a song about him. Here is the Firefly boxed set easter egg where Adam Baldwin sings the song, badly. He's wearing the hat that Jayne's mother sent him in another episode.

Hero of Canton

Other Adam Baldwin roles

Baldwin (no relation to Alec Baldwin and his brothers) has been in a number of movies and TV shows. He was a villainous lawyer with supernatural strength on Angel for a time. He got a little bit of fame in My Bodyguard (1980). He was also in a bad 80's movie called Bad Guys. Some Baldwin fans may really enjoy this borderline NSFW video of all the sexy clips from the movie edited to an appropriate 80's pop song: Boys Boys Boys.

Most recently Baldwin has a regular cast role in the TV show Chuck which is apparently a bumbling spy comedy type show. I watched it once, ascertained Baldwin was not playing anything remotely villainous or shady and lost all interest. Your mileage may vary.

Bonus edition: Blake's 7 villains

All images on this page copyright BBC. Please don't sue me.

Before turning attention away from Blake's 7, I have to give a shoutout to series villains Servalan and Travis. If you enjoy good old-fashioned evil perpetrated by classically trained British actors, this is the stuff for you!

Servalan

• Character: Servalan
• Actress Jacqueline Pearce (born 1943)
• TV show: Blake's 7
• Occupation: Supreme Commander of the Federation
• Marital status: single (potential husbands likely to have limited lifespans)
• Hobbies: fashion, man-eating, galactic domination
• Notable accessories: fancy dresses, lipstick
• Pros: intelligence, strong will and deviousness well-suited for villainy
• Cons: high heels don't travel well in BBC quarries
• Best quote: "Power became my lover."

Servalan could be described as an intelligent British Joan Collins in space. At first bent on defeating Blake, she later turned her attention to domination and expansion of the Federation. She always wore elegant outfits, even while out in the field, and clearly enjoyed having her way with men. Jacqueline Pearce made Servalan a truly memorable character and one of the mainstays of Blake's 7.

An excellent fanvid of Servalan set to Queen's "Killer Queen":

Here is a bizarre schtick by Jacqueline Pearce at a convention of unknown date in Chicago. She bashes men and then tells a very strange Not Safe For Work retelling of Cinderella. I am not embedding the video because I'm feeling strangely prudish about the melon business. You have been warned!

Tale of Two Travises

• Character: Travis
• Actors: Stephen Greif (born 1944) and Brian Croucher (born ?)
• TV Show: Blake's 7
• Marital status: single (probably snogs the Mutoids when nobody's looking)
• Hobbies: Hunting Blake, torture, sulking
• Notable accessories: tight black jumpsuit, eyepatch, artifical arm, puffy ring that shoots an explosive ray
• Pros: dedication to the job
• Cons: gets a lot of crap from the boss

Greif's Travis with Mutoid

Travis was a psychotic Space Commander obsessed with killing Blake. He could never escape being Servalan's lackey, which gave him a somewhat tragic, oppressed quality.

Here Greif's Travis prepares to attack with the help of his mutoids, troops with unquestioning loyalty and enhanced physical strength but dependent on blood serum infusions. Later in this episode he sort of sexually harasses the pretty Mutoid, then throws her to the wolves. This is incongruent with a later episode in the series where it is shown that he took care of his "men". But maybe that was a literal statement.

Croucher's Travis doesn't get a whole lot of love from the fans. If you want to watch him other than his death scene, you'll have to seek out full episodes on YouTube. I personally enjoyed his portrayal, but then I always liked the men in black. Dr. Who fans might recognize Croucher as the guy in "Robots of Death" who gave the Doctor a hard time and received an Avon-eque insult in return.

Servalan inappropriately touching Croucher's Travis

UPDATE: after having seen the extremely stinky episode "Voice From the Past" and succeeding episodes, I can see why some fans might dislike Croucher. I think the blame partially rests with the writers and directors, but Croucher's vague cockney accent and intermittent poor line delivery don't help either.

Inaugural post - Avon calling

All images on this page copyright BBC. Please don't sue me.

This blog is dedicated to the semi-baddies, the villains turned good, the persons of dubious character, from the silent era to current and television, film, and anywhere else I find them. Some genuine through-and-through evil villains may appear also.

That stated, who better to lead off with than Avon, that computer genius of silky-smooth sneer from Blake's 7. It's the role that actor Paul Darrow will always be remembered for, from a cheaply-made BBC sci-fi series that ran from 1978-81.

• Character: Avon
• Actor: Paul Darrow (born 1941)
• TV show: Blake's 7
• Occupation: Computer genius on the run
• Marital status: single (killed the love of his life, twice)
• Hobbies: Computer canoodling, sneering, occasional snogging
• Notable accessories: black leather with metal studs, big shoulder pads
• Pros: Silky smooth sneer
• Cons: Sneer can get annoying
• Best quote: "I have never understood why it is necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care, or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

"All brains, no heart" Avon gets a little dust in his eyes after Blake tells him he's always trusted him from the beginning.

Kerr Avon was the morally ambiguous counterweight to the idealistic Roj Blake. Avon was the voice of cold reason. His main priority was survival, but he was also keen on acquiring wealth and control of the Liberator. Avon had no compunction to kill or otherwise wreak violence in self-defense. He was an absolute bully to Vila, the show's dim-witted, cowardly thief. But he was always brutally honest and had a certain nobility about him. Hints of a warmer nature sometimes emerged from behind his stoic facade.

Blake's 7 is not available on U.S. region DVDs. There are ways to view B7 in the states but I'm not going to ruin these avenues by laying them open to lawyers. Email me for more info. (Hey BBC - why not post B7 on your website with ads, so American viewers can watch and you can still generate revenue off your investment?)

There are many fan videos of Blake's 7 on YouTube. Here are a few amusing ones:

Avon's insults and jibes

Acceptable in the 80s where Avon is getting most of the snogging, as the British put it.

Blake's 7 Out-Takes (Series 3)

Want more Avon? Check out the Paul Darrow Society page which as of this posting has up-to-date news about Darrow. Give a listen to Oxfordshire radio station Jack FM where Darrow can be heard doing funny call signs in his best Avon voice in between 60's-90's pop/rock tunes.

Further reading

Many Blake's 7 books have been published since the show aired. Consider purchasing Darrow's book You're Him, Aren't You which has good ratings on Amazon.com. Paul Darrow penned a short book called "Avon: A terrible Aspect" Carol Publishing, 1991, which I must admit I remember nothing from except there being a sex scene in there somewhere. "Blake's 7 Programme Guide" Virgin Books, 1994 has a section of quotes from the major characters which can be an entertaining read. For those with deep pockets there is more B7 merchandise available - models, teleporter bracelets, guns, etc.